In the field of environmental compliance, control and monitoring devices are used to provide valuable information for monitoring and managing elements of a monitored system or facility. For example, an underground remediation system may be installed to control the remediation process of contaminated subsurface grounds and may provide a capability for monitoring the status of the activity. In another example, an underground storage tank monitor may be installed with an underground storage tank system to monitor the tanks, related pipes and surrounding subsurface grounds.
Managers responsible for such systems or facilities generally have a need to track the operating status of the system. This may often include the need to manage regulatory compliance requirements associated with the installed system or the surrounding environment.
These control and monitoring devices, referred to by the term “third party devices” (TPDs), can be any controller, microcontroller, embedded computer, embedded processor or other such electronic device, instrument or sensor which controls, monitors or otherwise provides information about some other element.
Because such devices are typically isolated and independent devices, it has been difficult to integrate them with information management systems. In particular, there are several problems with integrating multiple third party devices at one or more geographical location into a common information management system:                For example, each TPD typically uses a different line level protocol. That is, each device may employ a different electrical signaling technology for transmitting data, including but not limited to RS232, RS485/422, FireWire, Current Loop, Ethernet, 4-20 ma and proprietary protocols.        Each TPD may use different command and data structures. In particular, each device may have a different command syntax for interaction with the device, format its output data differently and use different methods to represent data. Some devices transmit printable characters; some transmit non-printable characters.        Each TPD may use a separate user interface. Typically, each device has its own communications port, making it difficult for a user to communicate with each device without installing separate dedicated phone lines or other multiport communications devices. Because these devices may not be network ready, networking technologies can not be used. This independence complicates remote TPD control and management.        Device independent applications (software programs) typically do not exist. Common software applications which accept information from similar TPDs regardless of the manufacturer do not exist or are not common.        For software application suites to effectively manage operational parameters of TPDs, and specifically environmental compliance, state, local and federal regulations must be formatted or codified for use by software.        
A known system provides for up to two TPDs that are connected to a microcontroller for the purpose of collecting data from the devices. In this known system, data is polled via a telephone dial up connection by a personal computer. Once the data is received and stored at the PC, a parser places the data into databases from which reports are printed. Limited rules applied to the data for determining compliance are hard coded and limited to one rule per system resource.